Next instalment; Cause of Delay? - What to Learn. Q. Insaf asked...

Next instalment;

Cause of Delay? - What to Learn.

Q. Insaf  asked who was responsible, and are there any lessons to be learned from the experience of the shaft hitting the voids (old stopes). at Pandeniya.

A. Can't suggest anyone was responsible - just part of the scenery when working around old artisanal adits and shafts. Most of these old "mines" were active around a century ago. The miners are long gone. There were no mine plans, no documentation or data of any kind. The current landholders generally have no idea of what is "down below".

Chris Banasik (sorry for incorrect spelling of surname in earlier post - I was tired!) pointed out that in Australian conditions it may be possible to use radar technology to  scope out voids, but in SL, the conditions are very different, especially with the higher rainfall and ingress of vast amount of water over time, filling the voids and stopes with mud, silt and other detritus. So it is possible this may be encountered again.

Craig McGuckin emphasised that now they have worked out the best way to handle the situation if they encounter it again, the mining teams will be very aware of what to do, and what processes and methodology to follow, and the company's policy around safely, which is paramount.

So the key out-take again was the emphasis on inculcating a new attitude to employee safety in all mine planning and development. Some of these shafts could be mined for decades (Remember, the government mine has been going for 140 years, and over 300,000 tonnes has been hauled to the surface over that time).

So the company wants all employees to understand all development focusses on the "long term. Do it once and do it right.

Once shafts are past these tricky areas, there is a good chance the veins will steadily get wider, with more pure graphite, with higher value.

We were again reminded that FGR is all about setting up for the long term - the VERY long term. We were also again reminded that the current delay is having absolutely no effect on the progress and prospects, even short term.